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Why is that guy walking around my truck taking all of these pictures?

Posted by Leah Warner
on 17th March 2014

Many customers and drivers may have had this thought while an MME tech was completing an install, so here is the explanation to the question that has been burning in the back of your mind: Why all the pictures?

MME prides itself on quality installations and services. This means that we strive to provide the best work, the first time around. However, everyone is human, and we all make mistakes. We’ve all experienced issues with typos, and the inconvenient, yet sometimes hilarious, auto-correct. This is where all of the pictures come in handy.

We record all pertinent information, such as serial numbers, VINs, and license plates, at the time of install. Photos are also taken at this time, Geocoded to prove location taken, watermarked, and documented in our state-of-the-art work order system. If by chance, a digit is missed or an incorrect button is hit, we have the photos to fall back on, serving as a backup. Obviously, we try to get everything correct, but, again, all of us are human and make mistakes.

So what does this mean to you? If this information is not recorded at the time of install, and an incorrect number is reported, this could result in several outcomes:

You may think that one vehicle is being tracked, but it is really another. This could result in incorrect time sheets and other compliance issues.

A vehicle may show to be tracking, when there actually is no unit installed. You may not even own this vehicle anymore, but because of an incorrect digit, you might be being billed anyway.

A provider could determine that there is an issue with a vehicle. This may cause you to bring the vehicle in to be serviced, when there was actually no issue. This results in you losing your vehicle on the road for that time and money from your pocket.

Also, a photograph of an installed unit could serve as evidence in a situation of product tampering. For example, say a unit stops reporting, and a technician comes to complete a service. He finds the unit is unplugged, and the driver says that it was left that way after the install. However, with the help of our photograph, we can show that the unit was, in fact, properly connected at the time of install. By taking a few extra seconds to snap a photo, our customers are saved time and money by cutting out unnecessary services.

So, while it may take a few extra minutes to take all of our photos, it is well worth it in the end. Not only does it help if a number is fat-fingered or mistakenly missed, it also helps save customers from losing time and money.